Trump administration bars Israel from joining US strikes on Iran

The Trump administration does not want Israel to participate in the renewed American military campaign against Iran, fearing that Israeli involvement could complicate the conflict and reduce Washington's control over it, CNN reported Friday citing two Israeli sources. The report emerged as regional mediators worked to de-escalate tensions following more than 170 US strikes on Iranian targets over 48 hours this week.azernews+1

Washington and Jerusalem at Odds

"Netanyahu would really want to join the US strikes, but the US doesn't want Israel involved at the moment," one Israeli source told CNN. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday at an air force ceremony that "the war has not yet ended," while Defense Minister Israel Katz declared the IDF was "prepared to resume the campaign, regain air superiority, and carry out an independent Israeli strike against Iran to eliminate threats".foxnews+4

A US official denied the CNN report, telling Fox News Digital it was "fake news" and that Washington "remains in close coordination with our Israeli partners". Israeli analyst Nadav Eyal of Yedioth Aharonoth offered a more nuanced picture: "On the record, Israel is signaling that it is prepared and even eager to strike Iran. But off the record, sources are saying that it is anything but that," he told Fox News Digital, noting that any Israeli strike would invite ballistic missile retaliation against Israeli territory.foxnews

Diplomacy and Devastation

The week's violence began after Iran attacked three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. US Central Command struck roughly 80 Iranian targets that night and an additional 90 the following night, hitting air defenses, radar, anti-ship missiles, and over 60 small boats along Iran's southern coast. Iran retaliated against US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait. At least 14 people were killed and 78 wounded across five Iranian provinces, according to Al Jazeera.politico+3

President Trump declared the June memorandum of understanding "OVER" but said Iran had asked to continue talks, to which Washington agreed. Trump also floated reinstating a naval blockade, telling reporters at the NATO summit in Turkey: "We may put it back — the blockade — and it'll only be a blockade for Iran".aljazeera+3

Mediators Push for Restraint

Qatari negotiators have traveled to Iran in coordination with the United States to meet Iranian officials and create conditions for talks to resume, according to a source cited by Fox News. Qatar and Pakistan brokered the original June 17 memorandum of understanding that halted fighting and set a 60-day window for broader nuclear negotiations. Those talks now hang in the balance as both sides settle into what officials describe as an uneasy pause.aljazeera+4

Whether Washington can keep Israel sidelined — and whether mediators can revive a framework before the August 21 deadline expires — may determine whether the latest confrontation remains contained or spirals into a wider war.foxnews+1